On November 20, 1996, at 1556 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 172P, N26FR, operated by Superstition Air Service, Inc., of Mesa, Arizona, departed the runway at Falcon Field after landing nose wheel first and porpoising. The aircraft received substantial damage in the hard landing and subsequent departure from the runway. The certificated private pilot, who was practicing landings at the time of the accident, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated and terminated at Falcon field. In her written report, the pilot stated that "I hit hard on the nose wheel then porpoised up [and] I just allowed the aircraft to settle by itself. Eventually the aircraft slowly rolled off [the runway.]" The pilot reported that there were no mechanical problems with the aircraft prior to the accident and that weather was not a factor.